Sylvia's blog

Sylvia's blog

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Friendship (n) - a friendly feeling or disposition; a friendly relation or intimacy; the state of being a friend.

Over the years I have had some good friendships and some bad friendships.  I have also been a good friend and have been a bad friend.  Whatever the circumstances, I have learned something from all of them, and I consider any time I've spent with them a blessing. Besides my upbringing and environment, the friendships I've had helped mold the person I am today.

I'm writing this post today for a special group of friends...or should I say two groups.  The first group was formed about two years ago out of a desire to be a better writer.  I met these friends on a contest writers' forum. Every year Amazon Publishing has a free contest trying to find the next great breakthrough novel....Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA).  Every year 10,000 entrants lobby to because a publishing/marketing prodigy of Amazon's.  It's a great contest with great forums/threads.  Anyway, that's how I met this group.  We formed a beta readers group where we meet once a month and review each others' writings and provide encouragement.

 I've entered ABNA four years now...well, technically, three years because the first year I waited to the last minute and the contest closed.  I still count that for some reason.  I guess the preparation has something to do with it.  There are several rounds you have to get through to become a finalist and I've only made it through the first round once, and that was last year.  The "Pitch" round, they call it, because it's your chance to pitch your book to a reviewer and make it sound better than the other 9,999 entrants.  Yesterday I found out that I didn't make it, but the five other members of my beta group did.  Although I'm a little disappointed, I'm not sad because five of my friends are still in the running....and there will always be next year for me to try again. My friendship with these people...strangers, really, because I've not met one of them in person...keeps me motivated to do something that I love and that I know will eventually help me to reach my author's goal.  My fingers are crossed for each of them .

The second group of friends are the ones here locally who know I write and enter this contest every year.  My friend Frank marks it on the office calendar. They are all mad with Amazon this morning.

Love them all.....

5 comments:

  1. Thanks, Sylvia. Our group is the very best thing to come out of ABNA for me. And I'm 1/6 mad at Amazon this morning, too.

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  2. I love, love, love our group. Without you guys I'd still be polishing my first story and not yet have written a second. And I too am 1/6 mad at Amazon. We were all supposed to meet in Seattle. Doesn't Amazon know this? sheesh

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  4. Our group rocks! Sometimes I still can’t believe how lucky I was to get into it. I’m not a forceful person by nature, but when I got the vibe you were all in a critique group I just felt like I had to get in it! I’d been following your posts (I’m not gonna say stalking, but—yeah, maybe a little) and you were all so funny, quick-witted , SANE and had such a range of awesome books to boot. Thank you ten times over for letting me be a part of this! And Sylvia, our group redefines friendship for me. Now I realize you don’t always have to know someone “in person” to count them as a really good friend.

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